Thanks, apochronaut, for a stunning link to better overview of life and our fantastic biosphere. A Scottish chemist wrote a fine paperback on his theory that life started in the stabilizing matrix and shelter of clay substrates..just like 'mother bords, or optical benches, or electronic peg-boards upon which components may be placed together.

Here in your link of current work...solid substrates contribute to all these 'shadow life' communities...a wonderful link to read...then think about! Charlie guevara

Thanks for sharing, apochronaut. The DNA analysis should be really interesting. It's mysterious how tenacious life is - that any possible niche that can be exploited will be exploited, even at great extremes.

Maybe finding life on a place like Titan (perhaps under the surface where it's presumably warmer) is not be that far fetched after all.